UFC 143 Nets Bout Between Jorgensen and Barão

UFC officials moved swiftly to find Josh Koscheck a new opponent once Carlos Condit was move to the UFC 143 main event opposite Nick Diaz. Koscheck will now face Mike Pierce on the Super Bowl weekend fight card in Las Vegas.

In announcing the Koscheck vs. Pierce fight, UFC officials also confirmed that top bantamweights Scott Jorgensen and Renan Barão have verbally agreed to fight each other on the UFC 143 fight card.

Jorgensen (13-4) has won back-to-back bouts since making the jump to the UFC with a number of other former WEC fighters. He lost his final WEC bout, a unanimous decision to UFC champion Dominick Cruz, which was his only loss in his last eight bouts. His two UFC victories came against Ken Stone and Jeff Curran.

Although he has a stellar record of 27-1, Barão just recently burst onto the international scene when he emerged in the WEC in mid-2010. He has won all his fights under the Zuffa umbrella, including two bouts in the WEC and two in the UFC. He most recently submitted top British bantamweight Brad Pickett at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England.

With Jorgensen currently sitting at No. 5 in the world bantamweight rankings and Barão at No. 6, the winner of this bout could be in line for a shot at the UFC 135-pound title. Current champion Dominick Cruz and his next challenger, Urijah Faber, will serve a stint as coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter and then square off in a pay-per-view bout the week after the series concludes.

UFC 143 is headlined by a battle between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit for the interim UFC welterweight championship on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas.